


Always Put Your Left Foot First

by jackkelly



Series: Band Camp Chronicles [1]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Marching Band, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Inspired by Real Events, Jazz - Freeform, M/M, Marching Band, Mild Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating: PG13
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2019-09-25 08:01:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 9,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17117516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackkelly/pseuds/jackkelly
Summary: The newsboys go to band camp and try a lot of their typical shenanigans ranging from creating hybrids of instruments to spilling cheese into the salad bar. Of course, there's going to be some stuff that is completely wild because DUH what's band camp without a little wildin'. Yes, band is a family, but every band has to have a few couples. Right?***Note to reader: Some of these silly incidents are actually experiences I've had in real life during band camp/performances. I hope you enjoy reading this story!DISCLAIMER: Newsies and their characters aren't owned by me. The only things that I own are my writing and ideas! I am NOT making a profit off this! I just write for fun!





	1. The Pre-Band Camp Rituals Begin!

It was five o’clock in the morning when Jack awoke to the sound of something sizzling in the kitchen. He groggily opened his eyes checked his phone. It was July 15th and that could only mean one thing: it was the start of band camp.

He hopped out of bed and started his daily routine of brushing his teeth, fixing his hair, and picking out an outfit. After opening the windows and making his bed, he walked into the kitchen. He wasn’t astonished to find Crutchie cooking bacon and eggs, after all, he was an early riser, but even this was a bit too early for him.

“Aye Crutch! What are you doing at ungodly hours like this? Sun’ll rise when it wants to,” Jack said with his New York accent seeping through.

“Says the one who is up until three in the morning. Plus it's band camp day! How was I supposed to sleep?”

“Wow I am so wounded,” Jack said taking mock offense.

Crutchie paused to fix his crutch, “I made breakfast while I was up though.”

“Never mind you’re a savior.” Jack ruffled his hair.

Crutchie scoffed, “You’re welcome.”

Jack grabbed some plates from the cabinet and served himself two pieces of bacon and two eggs. He did the same for his brother and helped him sit down.

Jack had known Crutchie since he was very young because they were both foster kids who were abandoned by their families. Jack remembered being sent from family to family with the hope that someone would take him in.

Everything was always harder for Crutchie because of his weak leg. He had lost both his parents in a fatal car accident and was left severely injured. It was a huge miracle that he had survived, but it came with a price, which was how he ended up with that feeble leg.

After several years of wishing for a family, he and Crutchie had been adopted by their mother, a kind-hearted lady named Medda Larkin. She was a theatre teacher at their local high school and that was how they had ended up becoming some of the most recognizable musicians in their community.

According to Crutchie, their mother had already left for the theatre to do a run through of a performance later on in the day. He wished that everyone could just get a break.

Jack started washing the dishes after Crutchie finished his breakfast. Now he had to get to their yearly band camp morning ritual of screaming at Spot through the phone while Crutchie filmed it. Each year Spot’s snarky comments got funnier and funnier.

“Is your phone ready?” Jack asked while dialing Spot’s number.

“You know it!”

The ringing finally stopped and a voice with a very thick New York accent picked up.

“Hello wh—”

“HEY SPOT ARE YOU READY FOR BAND CAMP!?” Jack yelled into the phone.

“Jack you little sh—” He was cut off.

“HELL YEAH WE’RE READY!” Race screamed into the phone, “LET’S GET IT MANHATTAN!”

“BROOKLYN IS BETTER! BUT CAN ALL OF YOU SHUT UP! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” He heard Spot scream in the background.

Jack and Crutchie burst out into a fit of laughter while Race and Spot screamed over the phone.

“Okay this is Jack signing off we’ll see you guys in an hour!” He said as he ended the call.

Jack looked at the picture of Crutchie, Spot, Race, Katherine, and him from his freshman year of band camp hanging up on the wall. Jack and Crutchie were juniors now and it would be no time until it was their last concert.

“So what are you excited about for this year’s band camp?” He asked Crutchie.

“I’m mostly excited for teaching the freshmen our band traditions. Nothing is more exciting than learning your first cheer! It makes you really feel like you’re a part of something. I can still remember learning my first cheer and I want a freshman to feel the same thrill that I did,” he said grinning widely.

“I’m excited about this year’s show because I heard it’s going to be one of the hardest shows we’ve ever done. I also heard that it’s arranged by _professionals_ and that the school paid seven thousand dollars for it. Apparently, that’s cheap in the marching band world...”

“Wow, our school’s arts committee _snapped_.”

Jack laughed at his friend’s use of modern slang. He grabbed his backpack, his tenor saxophone, and then put on his hat. He urged Crutchie to put his on too since it was a typical hot summer in California, which meant it was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk.

Crutchie asked, “Have you got your stuff?”

“I think so, but I may have ‘accidentally’ packed five gallons of water…” Jack smirked slyly.

“No dying of dehydration this year!”

Crutchie laughed as he loaded his stuff into the back seat of Jack’s red vintage Volkswagen. The old car had been through a lot of the gang’s shenanigans and he was surprised that it was still surviving.

It was about a six to ten-minute drive to the school depending on traffic. In the meantime, he stared out the window at the cars.

Sadly, his daydream session was interrupted by the obnoxious sound of a car horn. He jerked out of his thoughts and quickly looked out the window to reveal Race’s turquoise Ferrari in the opposite lane. Race was basically broke because he used up a large portion of his savings on his car.

Crutchie opened the window only to be blasted with the sound of Race screaming.

“WHO’S THE LOUDEST!?” Race yelled.

“MANHATTAN!” Crutchie and Jack exclaimed back in unison.

Spot waved his hands in the air, “HEY! IDIOTS WHY DON’T YOU KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD.”

“Calm down Spot I’m driving responsibly,” Jack surrendered.

Crutchie watched Jack close the window and they were off to band camp again.


	2. A Cheer And A Love Struck Boy

It had been five minutes since Race, Spot, Jack, and Crutchie had arrived at the school. It was absolutely chaotic. This year’s freshmen were very fidgety and they could _not_ sit still.

Jack and Spot were helping set up microphones and percussion on the field, while Race and Crutchie were on ‘Welcoming the Newbies’ duty.

Race was crazy when he was a freshman, but even he couldn’t match up with this. He was already starting to feel dizzy and the heat wasn’t even kicking in yet.

“Are you Jack Kelly?” An unfamiliar voice asked.

“Are you seriously asking me if I’m _the_ Jack Kelly? Haha, I’m just kidding. I’m not Jack, but I sure am Racetrack Higgins,” he answered.

“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m David Jacobs and I’m supposed to meet up with ‘Manhattan’ and I have no clue what that is.”

“Okay let me give you a basic summary.” Race fixed his hat, “So we have these little teams among the band that are part of this fun competition. Each team gets points for completing certain tasks and at the end of the year we have a little ‘Olympics’ to see which team has racked up the most points.”

“So how do I get to this team?” David asked impatiently

“Jack’s already on the field helping set up. He’s not hard to miss because he’s probably screaming. I’m supposed to be keeping track of rookies or new kids like you, so I’ll see you around.”

“Thanks for your help.”

He nodded. _What an oddly calm kid_ , he thought. After herding all the freshmen into the band room, he picked up his trumpet from the chair he had left it on. He tried not to hit any kids with the door as he sprinted to the field.

Race had started learning his first instrument in fifth grade. He had chosen trumpet because it had seemed as if it was telling him to take it from the music store. He had given the trumpet a good life for sure.

Then he took band in sixth grade along with Spot, Jack, Katherine, and Crutchie. That was how they had all met each other and formed their tight bond.

In seventh grade, he decided to learn alto saxophone. That decision paid off when the jazz band already had too many trumpets auditioning.

He had finally got to the field, but now he had to find his crew.

“Albert! Elmer! Get over here!” Race whistled and the three came running from the crowd.

Elmer said trying to catch his breath, “We’re here! What’s up?”

“Albert are the all the freshmen’s instrument checkouts taken care of?”

“Yeah there’s some jittery kids in this year’s lot,” Albert took a swig from his water bottle.

“What about the frosh drum harnesses?”

“They’re all set up along with the sticks and everything.” Elmer clicked his sticks.

“Good.”

They all wiped the sweat off their faces and fanned themselves with their hats. The responsibilities and the heat were starting to kick in.

“Snazzy job boys, and welcome back to band camp.”

Elmer and Albert cheered and Race joined in as they clinked their water bottles together.

While kids were screaming and making obnoxious sounds on their instruments, David was making his way through the crowd trying to find Jack.

This was his first year at a public school since he and his siblings had been homeschooled for their whole life. He had learned French horn from a private teacher who happened to be his mother’s friend. His younger sister, Sarah, learned flute and his younger brother, Les, learned trombone.

Sarah thought it would be a great idea to enroll themselves in the high school’s band because they would be ‘playing with other musicians’ and ‘experience musical hardships.’ At this point in time, David could play any scale that was thrown at him. He could even reach the higher register, so he didn’t see the point of being here, but maybe it would be fun to socialize with people.

He stared at his feet and tried to dodge any form of human contact. David felt his social anxiety kicking in. _Well, this definitely isn’t going to be fun_.

David kept his eyes glued to his feet and he started to feel panicked. Suddenly, he bumped into a dark-haired boy who was about half an inch shorter than him. He noticed that he was also wearing a newsboys hat like he was. He guessed that it was a common style choice here.

“H-hey sorry about that. I should’ve been paying attention,” he stuttered.

David was on the verge of tears and his anxiety was shooting through the roof. It made it even worse that the boy was attractive.

“It’s alright, space is really tight and I’m sorry that I almost crushed you with a xylophone.”

He was surprised to hear him reply calmly with a thick New York accent.

“Do you happen to know where I could find Jack Kelly, the leader of Manhattan?”

He watched as a grin spread across the boy’s face.

“Well hello there, Mr. Kelly at your service. How may I help you?” The boy said flirtily.

 _This boy was the almighty, famous Jack Kelly?_ David expected someone more eloquently spoken and gentleman-like.  

“Well I’m new here and Director Rivera told me to ask you about band procedures and—” David was interrupted.  

“There are only three things you need to know. Number one, do not take food from Jake because it’s probably spiked. Number two, live your best life and have fun. Number three, if you fall during rehearsal or a show get your ass up and follow someone if you don’t know where you’re supposed to go.” he explained.

“Um okay.” He nervously pressed his valves.

“Nice mellophone you got there by the way, what model is it?” Jack looked down at the instrument in David’s hands.

“It’s a Jupiter Quantum Marching F Mellophone model five thousand five hundred fifty.”

“You’ve got good taste kid,” he paused, “Dammit sorry I forgot to ask you for your name.”

“My name is David Jacobs,” he stuck out his hand.

Jack took his hand and shook it, “It’s a pleasure to have you with us Davey and I hope you enjoy it here at West Coast High. See you around!”

David had never heard anyone call him Davey before and he wasn’t against it or for it either. He felt his face flush a light pink when Jack winked at him as he walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapters! It's my new year's resolution to write longer chapters in shorter amounts of time. Thank you for reading!


	3. Idiotic Love

“I see Jack has taken a liking to you.”

Spot watched the boy swerve around with a surprised look on his face.

“The name’s Spot Conlon and I’m the team leader of Brooklyn. Nice to meet you.”

“Davey Jacobs.” He shook his hand.

“It’s crazy how you’ve only been here for an hour and you’ve already gotten a band camp nickname.”

“Y-yeah I guess.” David stuttered.

Spot checked his watch and in less than a second, he heard the drum major’s whistle blow. He instructed Davey to find his section and waved goodbye.

He ran to the fifty-yard line and found a seat next to Race in the trumpet section.

“Hey, Spot what’s up?” Race asked.

“The sky, gas prices, and maybe some freshmen’s anxiety rates.”

“Wow, you didn’t jab me in the rib! You must be in a good mood.”

“Yeah don’t push your luck idiot.”

Spot knew that Race was not the brightest and it annoyed him to death, but for some odd reason he put up with that dumbass. They were friends since they were young and that could’ve been a factor in their relatively strong bond. No matter how much Spot teased Race he always had his back.

The band director called the section leaders to go get the dot sheets for their section. He looked down at the neon-colored slips of paper and rolled his eyes as he passed them out. Spot had the sudden realization that he wasn’t a sophomore anymore and that he had to teach the freshmen in his section how to read the complicated wall of numbers and directions.

“Well guess who’s going to hell!” Race exclaimed with fake excitement.

“I get it Racetrack, you’ve got an internship from the devil. Now let me see your dot sheet.”

He took a look at the sheet and Spot gaped in pure shock. Race had to go all the way from the twenty-five-yard line from the left of the field to the fifteenth-yard line on the right side of the field. The worst thing was that it had to be done in twenty-four counts. He reread the sheet just in case, but he was sure that he had read it correctly.

“Usually I would laugh about horrible stuff happening to you, but to be completely honest this is just bullshit. That’s the arranger’s fault for doing that. Can we get an F in the chat for my homeboy Racetrack.”

“Don’t ever say that last sentence ever again. I love you Spot, but I should be the one saying cursed things like that.”

“Not planning on it,” he nodded.

Race dabbed, “I’m already Racer.”

“Um, what the shit.”

“Yeah exactly, well I guess I have to go talk to one of the drum majors about this to see if this sheet is correct.”

Spot waved goodbye to Race as he was slowly surrounded by freshmen trumpet players who needed help finding their place on the field.

As he was helping the freshmen, one trumpet player really stuck out to him. She was a short, curly brown-haired girl with an attitude. She also looked a lot like Race. The curiosity poked him in the head like a branch on a tree. _Why don’t I just ask?_ He thought.

“Hey shorty!” he called.

“Me?” The girl pointed to herself.

Spot nodded in reply.

“Am I in the wrong place, Sir?”

“No, I think you’re correctly placed. Also no need to call me Sir, after all, I just called you shorty.” He laughed.

“Okay? Then is there a problem?”

“I was just wondering what your name is because you look a lot like a friend of mine.”

“I’m Annalicia Higgins, but people call me Smalls. I’m also the team leader of the Bronx and that idiot who is begging the band director to change his dot is my cousin.”

“Well, I assumed right then. You are somehow related to Race. It was the hair mostly.”

“I figured.”

“Let me tell you a little secret.”

“Oh, tea.” Smalls perked up.

“His idiocy is kind of funny and I find it charming in some weird dumbass way. I guess I like him just a little bit.” Spot explained. _Damn it why are you telling his cousin! She’s definitely going to tell him now!_ He mentally reminded himself to give him a good slap in the face.

“Awwee! You should definitely go for it! We need someone in our family that’s _actually_ responsible. Also, Race has been a little desperate lately.” She winked and made a zipping motion on her lips.

Spot sighed with relief. Maybe he did have a chance with Race.


	4. Xylophone Time!

After four hours of practicing the basics and running the first part of the show without instruments, the drum majors decided that it was time to start working on the show with music.

Crutchie fixed the angle of his GoPro and put his crutch in its designated stand. The stand was just a tall wooden box painted purple with the school’s logo on it, but he had to admit, it was pretty cool. He adjusted the drummer’s stool to the highest height and sat down. He was all set!

A lot of his life, Crutchie was told that he couldn’t do certain things because of his impairment, but he never let it get to him and he kept believing in himself. He hoped someone out there would see that he was capable of everyday activities and believe in him. Each foster family he went to tainted that hope and it slowly started to fade. Until he met Ms. Medda and was adopted by her.

At first, he was scared to go to school or join the marching band because he thought people would hate him or make fun of him. Now he actually went to school and was respected and well-liked by everyone. Crutchie never imagined that he’d be one of the most popular kids in school, making videos on YouTube, or nominated for drum major.

Crutchie waved at the camera. “Hey, guys it’s Crutchie! Welcome to the first rehearsal of West Coast High’s twenty-eighteen show titled Dreams featuring music from Coldplay and originals composed by Director Rivera.”

He gripped his mallets tighter as the drum major on the podium started to count off. The piece started out slowly with a little bells part. _Play lightly like a lullaby_. Crutchie thought as he hit the keys lightly.  
He snatched the timpani mallets and started lightly hitting the cymbal. _Cymbal roll like it depends on your life, Charlie!_ The cymbal roll led up to a gong crash. He glanced at his music and saw that the bells part had fourteen measures of rest.

He knew what that meant. Xylophone time! His main instrument was xylophone and according to people who have heard him play he was insanely good at it (which he didn’t believe) and he really loved playing it.

Crutchie gave props to their Director for the awesome piece. They were definitely going to beat Hasterfield High at the Battle of the Bands.

Then came the faster part and Crutchie was already feeling the music and getting lost in it. His hands were a blur and to people watching him, it probably seemed as if they were going seventy miles per hour.

Then for the dramatic finish, there was that typical trill. The first part of the routine was a success! He turned off his GoPro.

“That was amazing!” A freshman exclaimed with her eyes glowing with admiration.

“Thank you! I try to do my best.” He replied with gratitude.

“The way you put so much feeling into each note is just so intense. I want to have that kind of passion for my instrument someday.” She gripped her mallets tighter.

“I personally believe that the love you should give to your instrument should be the same love that you give to your family or your significant other. The good thing is that your music will always give your love back to you when everyone else doesn’t.” Crutchie explained.

“That’s so inspirational! My name is Lola, but in middle school, I’ve acquired the nickname Boots.” She pointed at her shoes.

“My real name is irrelevant haha. You’ll hear most people refer to me as Crutchie, even my teachers. It’s because of the crutch.”

“It’s an honor to be working with you Crutchie!”

They shook hands and went their separate ways for a water break. He chugged a whole bottle of water as if he hadn’t drunk water in a week. The icy water felt great in the blazing heat.

Race teased. “You’re swooping up the ladies as always.”

“M-me? Nah, I- Um- I was just mentoring a freshman. Stop leaning on the xylophone!” Crutchie almost spit out his water.

“I’m just kidding! Chill.”

“I’ll chill after you get off the xylophone.”

“Sorry! Sorry!”

“Are you liking this show so far?”

“Yeah and no. Yeah because the music is hella good and no because I have to go across the field two times.”

“Yikes!” Crutchie shivered with the thought. Marching band was like life. It was hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry about the long wait I've been super busy lately. At the moment, I'm currently eating ramen noodles and crying about Boku No Hero Academia for the 17th time haha. If you would like to request any fics please be free to do so!


	5. Lovely Interactions

It had been six hours in the warmth of the sun and Jack had already drunk one gallon of water. He saw Davey in the distance talking with Mush and drinking his water. He didn’t want to interrupt any ‘section bonding’ so he approached them slowly.

Davey seemed nice (and really attractive) and Jack wanted to make him feel at home and welcomed at their rowdy high school since he was homeschooled for most of his life. He knew how to felt to be alone in a crowded space and he didn’t want anyone to feel the way he did ever again.

No one should have had to feel the way he did.

The first semester of his freshman year was literal hell. A guy named Snyder, who ran the foster home would always leave him beaten and bruised. Jack always was quiet and felt alone in this crowded school because Snyder always told him that he would be ‘worthless’ and a ‘no good friend’ to everyone.

Jack even remembered a day in his life where he had wished he could run away to a nice city in New Mexico called Santa Fe.

After all these years of self-deprecating himself, Jack finally learned to accept his differences and now he was even helping other people accept theirs. It was his goal to help as many people as he could to help them feel like they had a place where they fit in the world.

“Hey, my fellow mellos! How are you two doing?”

“I’m going to faint, but Mush thinks that life is great,” Davey laughed.

  
“Well, everything is great! Especially since I’m not the only mellophone now.”

“What do you think about this year’s show though?”

Mush stirred his Cotton Candy Cadenza drink with his straw. “It’s fantastic!”

“Music-wise it’s almost a masterpiece, but marching-wise it’s literally hell,” Davey did the same with his Blueprint Blueberry drink.

“I like how you guys just walked out of practice to get those and no one even noticed.”

“Ah, the perks of being a two-man section, Jack.” Mush winked as he pulled out a white canteen.

“I guess you win this time.”

“We got you something too,” Davey held up the canteen and shook it, “Spot said that Kiwi Catastrophe was your favorite.”

Jack smiled and thanked him as he accepted the drink. “You’re such a gentleman.”

Davey smiled, “You’re quite the gentleman yourself, Jackie.”

“Now, now, let’s make sure that nickname doesn’t get out.”

“Don’t count on it.” Mush laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! It's been a while since I've posted. Sorry for the short chapter you can blame school and ISP for the lack of posting. I'll be sure to update more often now that my workload has lessened. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and make sure to leave a comment or a kudos!
> 
> I also made a javey and sprace playlist while I was at it.
> 
> Javey : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0aKITeNpSnRt4Gn4S72oOy
> 
> Sprace : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ClmoCYV2zyB4cGnBDIWBY
> 
> also shane dawson's new vid has me sh00k. psst watch carmen sandiego. ok bye im slowly falling down a hole of fandoms...


	6. Group Chat Shenanigans

Race stared at the valves of his trumpet and fingered notes to some song that was stuck in his head, The sound of the music they had played still rang in his ears. _My tinnitus will definitely be acting up tonight_ , he thought. The ringing started to give him a headache and the jittery freshmen were definitely not making it any better.

On the other side of the field, he saw Spot douse himself in a bottle full of icy water. _I could really go for an ice bath right about now_.

Race checked his phone for the time and to his surprise, they only had two hours left of practice. He thought about asking the gang if they wanted to go out to lunch and hang out after practice was over. He texted the group chat was currently named _OG WCH Band Morons_.

race.tr4ck: hey do u guys want to go get lunch after practice?

jacktafelly: i’m down

sunnyboy: me too, I’m hungryy! 😋

spotixal: ig it isn’t socially acceptable for me not to go

jacktafelly: can davey come?

race.tr4ck: IM SHITTING MYSELF LMAO WHO IS DAVEY

jacktafelly: race shut up omg he’s just this new kid i met today

kathrxn.es: KJSJSJS IT’S A FRESHMEN BAHAHAAH 😂😂😂

sunnyboi: jAcK whAt

jacktafelly: OH MY GOD U GUYS NO HE’S A JUNIOR

spotixal: i-

race.tr4ck: IM GONNA CRY WTF 😂

spotixal: what the hell im-

kathrxn.es: TEA KSJJS 😂

jacktafelly: imma add them

_jacktafelly added https.davey and sarahfxs_

https.davey: Hello

jacktafelly: hey! welcome to our gc aka hell

sarahfxs: when i die im going to hell lol i need practice being a sinner 😤👊

kathrx.nes: who are you and why are u literally me

sarahfxs: lol

https.davey: Sarah what the-

race.tr4ck: omg she’s one of us

sunnyboi: i’m scared

jacktafelly: me too

https.davey: Same

sarahfxs: fOrtniTe gAng

kathrxn.es: IM FREAKING-

race.tr4ck: IM SHAKING OMG

sarahfxs: i will destroy ur kneecaps in fortnite sis 😤

jacktafelly: whistle is going to blow soon we’ll talk after practice

race.tr4ck: bye sisters :)

Race shoved his phone into his pocket and smiled about the group chat’s weird conversation. This was definitely going to be an interesting year in band.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yooo it's the author againnnn! So I just really wanted to do a group chat chapter so that's why the formatting is way more informal than usual. I hope you enjoyed this funny little short chapter! Thank you for reading!
> 
> *I was freaking procrastinating by watching Soul Eater and it was really good so keep your eye out for some Somaka fanfic or something lollll


	7. Jalapeños And Anxieties

It had been an hour since the whistle had been blown and Spot was starting to regret eating those jalapeños before playing for the last thirty minutes.

The trumpet section this year was full of idiots, but they were persuasive idiots. The worst part was that Spot couldn’t avoid social interactions because the cold shoulder didn’t work on the freshmen instead it encouraged them (especially the girls because they had incredibly low standards these days).

“How are your chops doing Conlon?” Romeo smirked.

“They’re doing great actually,” he replied sarcastically.

Jack exasperatedly pointed, “I can’t believe that you’re not dead. You ate like five!”

Katherine said, “I ate a quarter of bell pepper and almost died, so I really can’t relate to this.”

“Spot just has that intense determination to accomplish anything and not even five jalapeños can stop him,” Race explained.

“I feel immense pain,” Spot said in a monotone voice.

He glared at Katherine and Race as they both burst into a fit of laughter. Not too shortly after, Jack and Romeo joined into the group of cackling idiots who sounded like dying llamas.

When Katherine and Race started laughing there was no way you wouldn’t laugh with them. Spot considered himself pretty tough, but even he couldn’t stop himself from laughing with Kath and Race. Their laughter was contagious and soon Spot also merged into the group of laughing dipshits.

“Oh man, that was a good laugh,” Romeo fixed his hat.

Race clutched his chest “Agreed.”

“Why do we do this stupid shit?” Jack questioned.

“I think we’re just at that point in our education where our brains are just done and our humor is just dead,” Katherine said.

Race sniffed the air. “Or maybe someone injected crack into the atmosphere.”

“Or maybe there’s a gas fixture in your apartment,” Spot replied.

“I hope your air conditioner breaks,” Race retorted.

“Electric and I cannot stress this enough chair,” Katherine pointed at the two boys.

Spot facepalmed. Everyone here was an idiot (himself included) and he really hoped that the new guy Jack was talking about had at least a little bit of sanity and common sense in his brain. When Spot saw Jack talking to Davey earlier he could tell that he was already swooning over him and he knew that Jack was probably never going to stop until he finally got Davey to go out with him. _What an idiot_ , he thought.

As Spot rolled his eyes in disgust about his brainless friends, while Davey freaked out about going to lunch with Jack’s friends. _What if they don’t like me? What if they make fun of me?_ He thought as he panicked.

Davey took a deep breath in and calmed his mind. His anxiety was stupid sometimes, but he had to admit that he was getting better at handling it. At least he didn’t cry every time he had to present in front of the class or when he had to order food at a restaurant.

He was actually excited for this lunch break because maybe he’d make new friends and maybe (just maybe) even a boyfriend. _Nah, David, you’re not that type_ , he laughed to himself.

The last whistle was finally blown for the day and that meant a stampede of high schoolers running towards the band room. He stepped aside to let the crowd through. He suddenly felt someone grab his hand.

“You look new here. Let me show you how it’s done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I've been trying to make this fic better by planning out what happens next. I might take another mini hiatus to make sure this fic is as good as it can be. If you want to follow me on social media you can follow my Tumblr which is @jackkellyz


	8. Senior Lot Meeting

“Crutch privileges!” the boy shouted at the top of his lungs.

The boy held his hand as the crowd made a pathway for them to run through. His hair was an autumn leaf color and his eyes were a shade of blueish gray that reminded him of the pretty pebbles he would find in the creek as a child. His hair was covered by a backward rusty colored newsboy’s hat and he wore a beige t-shirt tucked into dark brown plaid patterned capris. Davey could basically use the kid as an armrest.

“Huh? Who are you?” Davey questioned as he tried to catch his breath.

“People call me Crutchie and I’m a junior, how about you?”

They rushed into the band room to lock up their instruments.

“I’m David Jacobs, but people call me Davey I guess. I’m also a junior,” he shrugged.

His lock made a click sound as he locked his mellophone inside his locker.

“Oh, I’ve heard about you. You’re the new kid Jack was swooning over.”

“Swooning over?” he felt his face blush a light pink.

“I can explain later. Right now we should probably get going before the other kids trample us into pulp.”

Then they were running again. Crutchie was very fast considering the fact that Davey was struggling to keep up with him even though he had two feet on the ground.

Crutchie halted to a stop as they reached the school parking lot.

Davey took off his sweat-soaked hat, “You’re super fast.”

“Well, that’s the first time I’ve heard that,” Crutchie smiled.

When they arrived, they were some of the first few people to be waiting near the senior lot.

He pulled out his phone and shot his mother a quick text because he didn’t want her to go through the trouble of making lunch when he had already eaten.

“Ay, Crutch! I see that you’ve got a new friend?” The boy from earlier (supposedly called Racetrack) said as he slung his hand over Crutchie’s shoulder.

He wore a rainbow-colored backward baseball cap covered his head and his hair was golden as if it were a ray of sunshine itself. His jewel plated sunglasses, Hawaiian shirt, patterned converse, and khakis made him look like he was a cringy tourist from an old movie.

“Yeah! His name is Davey and he’s very nice. He actually has some common sense. Also, he thinks I run fast. I like him mostly because he thinks I can run fast,” Crutchie smiled.

The kid (supposedly) named Race extended his hand, “Nice to meet you Davey! I think I saw you earlier and heard from you on the group chat, but consider this the formal way I introduced myself. My name is Racetrack Higgins and if you really must know, my real name is Antonio.”

He shook his hand, “A pleasure to meet you Race.”

“Hey! Look over there! It’s Kelly of the Jack’s! And Kath!” Crutchie pointed.

 Davey’s head swerved around. His hazel pigmented eyes darted across the parking lot to abruptly set on the tall brunette haired boy on the left of the senior lot.

The boy’s hair looked like fresh coffee beans in the sun. His newsboy hat rested on his head without concern. His navy blue paint-stained button-up shirt and khaki shorts complemented his Van Gogh socks and black converse.

Jack was talking to an auburn-haired girl wearing a pink floral patterned jumpsuit who seemed unamused with something he was saying.

Beside them was Spot and he was shorter than both of them (who he remembered was the leader of Brooklyn) his dark coal colored hair was also hidden by a newsboy hat. His red and maroon striped tank top displayed his sunkissed bicep muscles.

Jack joked, “Heya! Well, look at this! We caught ourselves a wild Davey!”

“Oh wow look, we’ve stumbled upon a massive idiot,” Spot remarked.

“Wow! I am shocked,” the girl said sarcastically.

Davey spoke up, “Hey, I don’t really know everyone here?”

“Oh yeah! We should take a roll call to help Dave out. Also, we don’t want another ‘blue truck’ incident. You guys probably know how it works.”

“‘Blue truck’ incident?”

“You’ll probably find out sooner or later. Anyway, let’s take roll! A simple here will do.”

Race pulled out a pen and pretended to write something on his hand.

“Jack!”

Jack tipped his hat, “Yeehaw!”

“Crutchie?” Race called.

Crutchie tapped his crutch on the ground and hooted causing some laughter among the group of friends.

“Kath!”

The auburn-haired girl replied, “Present! The current status is: I have no clue what I’m doing.”

“Spot?”

The boy in the striped shirt replied, “A simple ‘here’ will do.”

“And our newest addition, Davey!”

“David has entered the chat. Also, I’m starving we should go forth and seize the meal.”

“That’s a great idea, Davey!” Jack agreed.

And then the group was bolting across the street towards the smell of food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did loads of characterization in this chapter and I hope you guys liked it! I'm trying my best to make chapters longer. Also, don't worry the plot is going to get more developed around chapter 10ish? So stay tuned because this tea is going to get hOt.
> 
> *** the twelfth night musical will be the eND of mE i stan andrew kober as malvolio so hard that my leg fell off


	9. Revelation And Jack's Chance

Jack’s mouth was filled with the taste of garlic fries and jalapeño mayo as he dug into his lunch. He had gotten an Impossible Burger which was their specialty.

“Jacobi’s is the best burger place in town! They have so many varieties of fries. Who knew there were millions of ways to fry and season potatoes?” He said.

“Their _steak._  So good.” Race said through a mouthful of food.

“I’m a vegetarian, but I respect that,” Davey replied.

“Stop flexing your self-control on us Dave,” Race whined.

Katherine shook her milkshake, “I love that for you.”

“Okay maybe I do think this Davey guy is chill,” Spot said.

“Vegetarians are taking over! Stop eating cows you jerks! I will cry!” Crutchie exclaimed.

“He gets mad when people tell him that they eat beef, pork, and chicken et cetera because he loves them. I don’t know why, but I respect it.”

“Excuse me for what I’m about to say but Race I will beat you up right now for eating that in front of me.”

“What about Jack? I see how it is. Everyone is just out here bullying me today.”

"My burger doesn’t have meat in it Race, I got eggplant substitutes. Too much meat isn't good for me either because I have to build up my muscles,” Jack winked at Davey.

“I’ve been played! By my own best friend!” Race said exasperatedly.

Jack caught Spot smirking in the corner of his eye. He was definitely pining for Race.

“Don’t kill cows! Save the bees,” Crutchie hissed.

“Yeah he’s really serious about that,” Jack stated once again.

“Yeah and Katherine is really passionate about women’s rights and she is always updated on most of the things going on in the world. Crutchie is really into spreading awareness about animal extinction and products being tested on animals. We all have pretty good political views and most of us are activists, including me,” Spot explained.

“Oh, nice! It's good to be aware of the things going on in the world. I try to spread awareness about people who don’t have funding for education and about how our current education system isn’t doing very well, to say the least,” Davey replied.

“I’m glad we are all concerned about the world and stuff, but like can we start heading out? You guys know what my nonna Gianna is like.” Race groaned.

“Yeah, my mother is pretty protective of me but just the right amount of protective. She’s not too strict and not too lenient either. My father on the other hand, however, is  _very strict_. Also, my family is Jewish but we’re not super hardcore Jewish,” Davey explained.

“My nonna not very accepting of the new age. She hates cellphones and modern musicals.,” Race paused, “And she also doesn’t really like gays and the idea of pride. My mom is accepting though.”

“That’s why when Race is with his nonna during pride month we always invite him over so we can cheer him up and so he can celebrate pride with us.” Crutchie chimed in.

Davey consoled Race, “That’s awful! I’m glad you’ve got good friends that support you though. If you ever need a safe place to go or something you can always come to my house as well. My family is really supportive and they’d love to meet you. My parents weren’t very surprised when I came out, but they sure were surprised when my sister came out. They’re okay with it as long as I let them meet who I’m dating.”

Jack had a chance. He had a chance. He had a  _chance._  He had a CHANCE.

 _Carpe diem_ , he thought,  _nothing can go wrong_.


	10. Don't Judge A Band Kid By Their Instrument (Things Set Into Place)

Race kicked a rock on the sidewalk. He had just finished lunch and he was headed back home with his friends. It was the typical hot band camp day,  but he didn’t let that dampen his mood. The streets were busy with cars and there were band kids everywhere in the plaza. He was glad they had gotten out of the lunch rush. 

He could definitely tell this year’s freshmen apart from all the other high schoolers and he was very glad that he only had to deal with them for one more year. 

Race walked silently next to Davey since the sidewalk could only fit two people next to each other. He would usually resort to talking to Kath or Crutchie but they were both talking with each other today. _This is going to be utterly boring_ , he thought, _he’s too chill for me_. 

“So why do they call you Race?” Davey asked.

Race laughed, “I spend a lot of my free time watching race cars on the racetrack. I’ve always wanted to be a NASCAR driver. As you’ve learned from my explanations of previous idiotic adventures, I am the type of person who likes the thrill.”

“That makes more sense. What are you planning to major in? I’m guessing it’s something interesting.”

“Eh, nothing very flashy. I’m majoring in aeronautical engineering,” he replied. 

Race smirked to himself. Most people would freak out once he told them that information with their reaction being, _but you seem like such a laid back person_ or, _you don’t seem like that type of person_. He loved to mess with people that way and he couldn’t wait to see the reaction on Davey’s face.

He watched as Davey took a moment to think about it. He looked a bit confused but he didn’t have the reaction Race expected him to.

“That’s actually really cool. I bet that takes a lot of studying and it’s extremely impressive because I’m assuming you’re younger than most of us. I wasn’t expecting that but I guess it makes sense. You love the thrill and what’s better than the thrill of making a revolutionary discovery? Right?”

 _Finally, someone got it_ , he thought. Race expected for Davey to be surprised, but instead, he was the one who ended up getting surprised. _This David kid is actually hella cool and I really hope Jack doesn’t scare him off. I really underestimated this dude._

“Exactly! Also, how did you manage to figure out that I’m younger than the rest of my friends? What are you going to major in? Psychic reading?” Race joked as they crossed the street.

“Haha, I wish! I’m actually going to major in statistics.”

Race exclaimed, “Woah you’re cooler than I thought!”

“I could say the same thing about you, Mr. ‘I’m majoring in aerospace’” Davey teased.

“Okay, you guys can stop geeking out now. If Race isn’t in his house in T-minus two minutes then he is going to get slapped in the face,” Crutchie said.

“I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow! Thanks for walking me home!” Race goodbye to everyone and flashed an extra smile at Davey and blew a kiss to Spot.

He closed the door and went to his room to put his backpack down. He entered the kitchen to find his cousin sitting at the dining table eating ice cream.

“Hey, _shorty_ what’s popping? How did your first day of high school band camp go?”

“Hi, _Antonio_ and my first day of high school band camp went great, thank you very much. Was it fun marching across the field in twenty-four counts? Also, I met that guy you liked or whatever,” she replied.

Race saw his life pass before his eyes.

“YOU TALKED TO _SPOT_ ?! I thought I told you to keep _out_ of my love life and to _not_ interfere with my friend group!” 

“Actually, I didn’t talk to him. He talked to me and I just listened. I’m not going to tell you what he said.” She shrugged. 

“Aw, come on don’t be that way! Smalllllsssssssss!”

Smalls had a hellish smile on her face, “Sorry Race! I promised him I wouldn’t tell you. It’s nothing bad it’s actually really good news for you. Can I make it up to you by setting the two of you up? I’ll be your wing woman!”

“Fine, but I bet there’s a catch.” He gave her a suspicious look. 

“You are correct! There is a catch. Do you know Jojo’s squad? You’ve got to get me a spot in their squad. That’s all, is it a deal?” Smalls spit on her hand and extended her arm.

“Okay, cousin you’ve got yourself a deal!” Race did the same and shook his cousin’s hand.

“Maybe you aren’t so bad,” Smalls said.

He scoffed, but he had to admit that Smalls was a miracle worker when it came to getting couples together and Race couldn’t think of anyone else who could help him, except for maybe Davey but he didn’t want to bother him since he was adjusting to the new surroundings. He definitely did not need any more burdens to carry on his shoulders.

Maybe he could actually get the courage to ask Spot out or take him to dinner? All Race knew was that he was on the right track and that was good enough for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me just plug my Tumblr again aha it's @jackkellyz. Also a quick shout out to my Mom who read this fanfic! She's really cool and uh we stan. Don't worry Mom, I'll make Javey endgame just for you 🤩😳


	11. Groupchat Shenanigans The Sequel

sarahfxs: heyyy losers

race.tr4ck: lmao hi

sunnyboi: what’s up everyone! 

sarahfxs: how do you breathe while marching

race.tr4ck: lmao what you legit just breathe i-

sarahfxs: well i was legit just tryna march and then i dipped by that i mean i fReaking forgot to breathe

race.tr4ck: i’m crying 😂😂😂

jacktafelly: It’s okay, it happens to the best of us. 

race.tr4ck: BRO JACK JUST USED GRAMMAR

spotixal: I CAME CUZ SOMEONE SAID JACK USED GRAMMAR

jacktafelly: Why is that a big deal?

race.tr4ck: OMFGGG IT’S HAPPENING Y’ALL!!! JACK IS IN LOOOOOOVEEE

jacktafelly: No I ain’t. Shut up!

sunnyboi: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH

jacktafelly: Really, Crutchie? You’re standing right next to me?!

sunnyboi: i actually don’t know what’s going on lollll

sarahfxs: wildin. he’s probably been hanging out with my nerd brother too much

https.davey: Rude!

sunnyboi: oh wait OH MY GOD

jacktafelly: CRUTCHIE SHUSHHHHSHSHS

sunnyboi: i am crying i am shaking i am on the ground

race.tr4ck: BRO WHAT?

jacktafelly: I’m smh.

sunnyboi: don’t worry i just freaked out because my vegan ice cream was gone. it was behind all of jack’s dum kale smoothie thingys

spotixal: wtf jack i was rlly finna beat someone up for hurting crutchie 

https.davey: ????

jacktafelly: We’re always like this…

Jack looked up from his phone at Crutchie. 

“You almost exposed me!”

“I just got excited because you guys would be the cutest ever!” Crutchie exclaimed.

“Breathe. Calm down,” Jack ruffled his hair.

He squealed, “Jack and Davey. Jack and Davey!” 

 _Here we go again_ , Jack thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another totally original group chat chapter! Don't worry I'm not giving up on this fic or my fic series. I'm just revising it a lot to make sure it's the best it can be. I'm hoping to not have too many group chat chapters, but I want to sprinkle them around throughout the fic because they're really fun to do! Hope you're having a wonderful day and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Love y'all! See you soon 💘💘💘


	12. Unfriendly Encounter

The second day of band camp had come and Crutchie wasn’t losing any energy just yet. 

“Hi, Crutchie! Uh sorry to bother you but do you happen to know where the mallets are?” Boots asked.

He replied, “Good morning Boots, also, you’re never a bother! Don’t ever be afraid to ask questions. There’s a yellow-colored drawer in the percussion closet and there’s a box that should be labeled ‘mallets.’”

Crutchie waved goodbye to her as she rushed to the percussion closet. _She reminds me so much of myself,_ he smiled to himself. The percussionist picked his mallets off the table and set off towards the field.

The band room door creaked as it opened and Crutchie felt the coldness of two furious stares on his back. That could only mean one thing: the Delancey brothers were near. He didn’t acknowledge them because a simple turn of his head could be used against him in a fight with them and they didn’t deserve his attention.

The annoyed boy didn’t bat an eye as the Delancey brothers blocked the gate to the football field. 

Crutchie simply smiled at them, he didn’t have the strength or the physique to start a fight but the way that he killed his enemies was with kindness. It had been a couple of seconds but they didn’t seem to budge.

“Good morning, Oscar and Morris,” he said politely without losing his smile. 

Oscar spit out a pistachio shell that landed near his crutch, “You know you don’t belong on that field.”

He shook his head, _I’m not letting this ruin my perfectly good band camp day._  

“I am not on that field for anyone else besides me. I play the xylophone because I love it. I listen to no one and I ain’t scared of you anymore.”

Anger painted Oscar’s visage and he heard the clench of Morris’ jaw. He once again felt their icy blue eyes piercing into his skin as he pushed the gate open and headed to the field. 

“You’re a freak!” Oscar yelled.

“You might want to be careful about what you say to me, otherwise Spot and Jack will come and give you hell,” the percussionist warned.

After arriving at the field, Crutchie found a strawberry smoothie and a note on his chair next to the xylophone. The note read:

We kinda ticked off the De-Lame-O brothers this morning. ~~#OoferGang Race what the fRicK.~~ Life sucks dude. Stay safe bro.

Luv ya lots, 

\- Jab and Rab ♡

He smiled as he took a sip of the smoothie. 

“JACK KELLY YOU IDIOT!” A girl yelled.

His head swerved towards the commotion. When he turned around he found his section leader, Rafaela, clutching a muffin in her right-hand snare drumsticks in the left. _What did my brother do now?_  

“I SWEAR TO GOD JACK! IF YOU LEAVE _ONE_ MORE MUFFIN ON _MY_ SNARE DRUM. I’LL MAKE SURE YOU WON’T GET TO SEE NEXT MARCHING SEASON!”

He laughed as she proceeded to chase Jack around the whole football field. Crutchie watched with amusement as Jack struggled to keep running.  

“That kind of serves him right doesn’t it?” 

“Whoa! Hey, Davey! You came out of nowhere!”

“I heard that he’s been doing that for the past three years,” the mellophone player laughed.

Crutchie smiled, “Word gets around fast here, doesn’t it?”

“Mhm, It sure does. I also heard that you’re a class favorite,” he added.

“Pfft, no need for the flattery just yet. I literally met you yesterday!”

“As my mother says, ‘kind souls deserve to be acknowledged.’”

The small percussionist’s grin widened, “Oh my gosh stop! Now you’re just doing that to make me smile!!” 

The dark-haired mellophone player’s eyes twinkled with admiration and wished him good luck.

Eyes like those were a good omen to Crutchie, and he was definitely going to bug Jack about asking Davey out. What type of brother would he be if he didn’t?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Also, thank you for 900+ hits and 64 kudos! I'm so thankful for everyone that has been with me on this journey of writing this fic! My band camp ended last week and oh boy is our show cool! We're doing a Queen themed show!! I said that I was going to shoutout two of my friends so uh hello A & J! The tea gets hotter I promise. Love you guys!!! <3


	13. Confession Discussion

Spot held his head up high and strutted with precise steps. Today was the day that he was going to ask Race out. The fourth whistle of the day had been blown which indicated that they only had a couple of hours left until the end of the last day of band camp. 

The lead trumpet player grew impatient because he wanted to confess his feelings as soon as possible. Spot had already stalled too long for his liking and he definitely didn’t want his life to end up being a tragic love story. 

“Hey! What are you staring at?” Race jumped in front of him.

He rolled his eyes, “You need to stop doing that. This is why freshmen are scared of you.”

“Eh, freshmen are annoying. I don’t think I need to be worried about what they think of me,” the taller trumpet player shrugged.

“You’ve got a good point. Now, what do you want? I bet you’re not here just to make small talk with me,” Spot said.

Race's lips broke into a crooked toothed smile, “How are you always right? It’s really unsettling, dude. I was just going to tell you to meet me at the second gate in the senior lot. I’ve got something really exciting planned.” 

“Alright. It better not be a lizard or any weird shit like last time.”

“Haha! It’s even better than a lizard.”

“Oh god.” The shorter trumpet player groaned.

“Uhm, well I’ll see you then I guess?” Race said as he started to jog to his spot.

“W-Wait!” Spot exclaimed while clutching Race’s hand tightly.

A confused look clouded the boy’s face, “Huh? Is everything okay? You’ve been acting weird lately. Did my cousin tell you something stupid? I swear I didn’t actually lock her in a tuba locker!”

“No no no, I just wanted to tell you that I have something to tell you too.”

“Alright then. I can you let go of my hand now?”

_ Damn it, Sean, you’ve really weirded him out this time _ . He mentally hit himself.

Spot let go of Race’s hand they headed off in their separate ways to find their dots in the next set. 

He directed his focus to his dot card and intensely glared at the tiny numbers making sure that he remembered where each one was. His focus was broken by a tap on the arm. 

“Hey! Have you done it yet?” Smalls stared up at him with her eyes gleaming with mischief. 

He could now see how she was related to Race. They were so similar yet so different.

He sighed, “Not yet. I’m planning to do it soon because I’ve already hidden my feelings for too long and if I hold them in for longer then there’s no point of return. To sum all of that up that means I’ll end up being classified as a pining idiot and I am  _ not _ a pining idiot.” 

“We’re right on track then! Step one of mission: getting Race and Spot together has commenced.”

“Yeah, you guys are definitely related.” He laughed.

She smirked, “Good luck!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again thank you for reading and for keeping up with my wacky update schedule! We got some plot rolling this chapter ooh. I also had a bit of writer's block so it took me a bit longer to write this. Also, my marching season is going pretty good, we've already learned about 9 to 10 sets out of 47 so that's progress. Last year it took us a whole semester to get through one sequence. Comment how your marching season is going down below and what your show's theme is for this year! Love y'all! Take care of yourselves and stream RAIN by Ben Platt right now <3


	14. The Meaning Of Music

It was the last hour of the second band camp day and the whole band was crowded around the director for “story time” as they like to call it. 

Race sat on the turf of the football field sandwiched between Albert and Elmer who were playing rock, paper scissors while Mr. Rivera was talking.

“The past two days haven’t been easy, I know,” Mr. Rivera said, “You guys have been working so hard and I just wanted to tell you that it will all be worth it in the end.”

Race looked up at the clouds.  _ I’ve made it this far and it’s already been worth it _ .

“Band isn’t just an elective that you get credits for it’s also a family that you’ll have for the rest of your life.”

In the corner of the blond trumpet player’s eye, he could see the drum majors standing up and saluting Mr. Rivera. Race made eye contact with Jack from across the crowd and nodded. The two boys stood up and took off their hats and held them to their chests.

“You’re going to experience your best and your worst in the band room. There’s going to be a lot of triumphs and losses but we’re all going to get through them together. Every small thing matters. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small memory or a piece of music that seems unimportant. You aren’t ever unimportant because in band every single thing matters.” 

The trumpet player watched as Spot and Katherine stood up along with Davey and a few other upperclassmen. Some took off their hats and some clutched their dot cards to their hearts. 

The director stepped down the podium, “And you may think you’re not the best at your instrument now or that you can’t make it through this season,” he laughed. “But wait until you’re bowing one last time in the school’s concert hall with a smile on your face as the audience gives you your final applause. Then you’ll think ‘well dang that was worth it.’ Congrats to those graduating this year and for those who are continuing their journey, hang on tight, it’s a long ride.”

Mr. Rivera always gave an inspirational speech every year about his opinion of what a band should be. Although it was similar every year it meant a lot to Race and his friends. He remembered feeling so out of place when his freshman year of high school began because he was the youngest out of all the people in his grade. 

When he first heard the speech it really struck a chord within him and he took everything to heart. Now Race was a junior and he still remembered every word and the gleaming eyes of every musician that had come and gone. This speech was especially important to him because it would be the last one that he would be able to enjoy without the burdens of worrying about graduating. 

“This is WCHS and our band is made of gold,” Mr. Rivera ended his speech with his fist raised to the sky.

Everyone cheered and Race caught glimpses of teary-eyed seniors hugging each other. He contributed his own whoop of joy to the chaos.

“WHAT ARE WE?!” Joey, the drum major yelled.

The crowd yelled “RAMS!”

“AND WHAT’RE WE GOING TO DO!?”

“TRAMPLE YOU!!!”

Race ran towards Jack in the crowd. He watched as the taller boy wiped his eyes with his hands in an effort to conceal the fact that he was crying. 

He gave Jack a small consoling pat on the back. Race understood what Jack felt like because he knew that band was the thing that got him through his high school years. No, Race knew that it was more than that; Music had saved Jack’s  _ life _ and that it was the only thing that was always there for him through thick and thin.

Spot, Crutchie, and Katherine rushed over with the ‘Oh god Jack is sad again’ essentials.

“I’m alright,” he sniffled.

Katherine handed him a tissue, “Are you sure? You’re full-on sobbing!” 

“Yes, I’m sure. I’m emotional about graduating next year. I’m not sad I’m just… Nostalgic.”

Jack glanced at Katherine as he pulled himself together.

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it,” Katherine rolled her eyes. 

Crutchie defended, “He’s definitely not crying because he’s sad. If he was sad then his lips would do the little curly thing and if he was mad then his nose would be all scrunched up. I think he’s just overwhelmed but why does it matter anyway?”

“Exa —  Wait my nose scrunches up when I’m mad?!” He asked confusedly. 

“Yes it does,” Katherine and Crutchie said in unison. 

He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at them.  _ My nose DOES NOT scrunch up when I’m mad _ , he thought.  _ That’s ridiculous! _

“You’re literally doing it right now,” Spot pointed out. 

He frowned, “No I ain’t!” 

“Aww, you’re so cute when you’re mad, Cowboy! I’m really considering getting back with you again,” the auburn-haired girl said playfully. 

“Really?”

“No, you idiot.”

Jack sighed disappointedly and scowled at her. _ It was worth a shot he told himself _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOSH THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH FOR 1000+ READERS!!! I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU GUYS! THANK YOUUUU! I hope you guys are having a wonderful day/night/afternoon! Love y'all! Take care of yourselves and make sure to leave kudos or a comment <3


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